• Gower, Confessio Amantis I :⁠— “A trompe with a sterne breth, Which was cleped the trompe of deth. ⋮ He shall this dredfull trompe blowe To-fore his gate and make it knowe, How that the jugement is yive Of deth, which shall nought be foryive.” ↩
• Lami, in his Deliciae Eruditorum , makes a strange blunder in reference to this passage. He says:⁠— “Not long ago the baptismal font, which stood in the middle of Saint John’s at Florence, was removed; and in the pavement may still be seen the octagonal shape of its ample outline. Dante says, that, when a boy, he fell into it and was near drowning; or rather he fell into one of the circular basins of water, which surrounded the principal font.” Upon this Arrivabeni, Comento Storico , p. 588, where I find this extract, remarks:⁠— “Not Dante, but Lami, staring at the moon, fell into the hole.” ↩
• Dante’s enemies had accused him of committing this act through impiety. He takes this occasion to vindicate himself. ↩
• Probably an allusion to the red stockings worn by the Popes. ↩